Where in Surrey are rehearsals held for a musical-comedy about a monstrous family?
At a funeral home, naturally.
So it is for Fraser Valley Musical Theatre (FVMT) at Valley View Funeral Home, where cast and crew have worked to bring “The Addams Family” to the stage starting Thursday, June 29.
The Newton funeral facility is one place where the theatre company has rehearsed for many of its 40 years, thanks to a longtime sponsorship agreement.
“This is definitely an appropriate show to be rehearsed there,” agreed director Sam Robbins, who also leads rehearsals at St. Cuthbert Anglican Church in North Delta.
She’s a first-time director for FVMT after working both on-stage and off with the company over the past 20 years or so.
• PHOTOS from 2017: Theatre company brings party to a Newton funeral home, on Facebook.
For the current show, music direction is done by John Arsenault, choreography by Tamara Jaune, and a 12-piece live band is part of the production, which hits Surrey Arts Centre’s Main Stage for a run of two-plus weeks, closing July 9.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
This version features an Addams family of Ahnika Airey (Pugsley), Patrick Arnott (Fester), Rachelle Beaulieu (Grandma Addams), Stef Delisimunovic (Morticia), Tim Marron (Gomez) and Cecilia Federizon (Wednesday), characters first created by cartoonist Charles Addams way back in 1938.
“I love the characters, who lend to relatable family dynamics,” Robbins said in a phone call. “They seem very off-kilter and macabre, but for me there’s just something super-relatable about them. I grew up with the TV show before, and then of course the movies, which I watched every Halloween.”
This musical version of “The Addams Family” debuted on Broadway in 2010, with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice.
Robbins said she’s never seen it performed on stage, until now. A confessed “big musical theatre nerd,” she’s watched clips of the Broadway show on YouTube, but that’s it.
“I was a big fan of the show and also the musical when it came out, so I’ve been pretty excited to be involved in this,” said the director. “With the new series coming out, I thought it’d be a good idea to more people to know about the Broadway show. The music becomes a big earworm, stuck in your brain. I’ve been a really big fan of the music.”
Here, Wednesday Addams has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family — a man her parents have never met. “And if that wasn’t upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother,” explains a post on fvgss.org/addamsfamily, where tickets are sold in addition to Surrey Arts Centre’s box office, 604-501-5566.
“Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before: keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s ‘normal’ boyfriend and his parents.”
Check FVMT’s Facebook page for cast bios, photos and more.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Earlier this year, in celebration of the company’s 40th anniversary, Fraser Valley Musical Theatre switched gears to stage “The Addams Family” this summer. A performance-rights issue forced the company to back away from staging the ABBA-themed show “Mamma Mia.”
“I was going to be directing that,” Robbins noted. “My friend Tamara (Jaune) and I were very excited to get on board with this show instead.”
With FVMT, Robbins last appeared in “Anything Goes,” and then she stage-managed the company’s panto, “Sleeping Beauty,” last winter.
“I love directing, especially with a cast like this, it’s so easy. This show is all about family, and with family being super important to me, it’s actually been quite easy,” said Robbins, who lives in Langley with husband and daughter.
“It’s not always like that, and I’ve been involved in many shows, but this one has been an absolutely blast to work on. The costumes are coming along and we’ve had some great photo shoots and we’re sending out those photos on social media. There are a lot of parts and a lot of moving pieces, but we’re pretty excited about bringing this to the stage.”
The seven show times at Surrey Arts Centre are 7:30 p.m. June 29-30 and July 6-8, with 2:30 p.m. matinees July 2, 8 and 9, with details on tickets.surrey.ca.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram and follow Tom on Twitter
